MEDIA; Women's Wear Daily Setting Its Sights on the Luxury Market

By LIA MILLER

Published: March 14, 2005

Women's Wear Daily has long been the bible of the fashion industry. Now W.W.D. will attempt to follow that industry's climb into the luxury goods market with a new high-end magazine called WWDScoop.

Edward Nardoza, the editor in chief of Women's Wear Daily, said that the magazine would have a global focus, and that it planned to capitalize on the worldwide team of journalists Women's Wear Daily has in place. ''We have a figurative front row to some of the most interesting people in the world, the trend setters and style makers,'' he said.

The magazine, which calls itself ''an insider's guide for the fashion jet set'' will be a tabloid-size glossy sold in major cities around the world, beginning next Monday. It is scheduled to come out four times this year, increasing to six times next year. It will sell on newsstands in the United States for $7.95. It will also be included as part of any subscription to Women's Wear Daily, which has a circulation of 43,392.

The premiere issue of WWDScoop is 110 pages, with 40 pages of advertising, and features a variety of articles, the company said. ''Any area is fair game for us to look at,'' Mr. Nardoza said. The first issue will have articles on seasonal foods, the recent fashion shows in New York, Paris and Milan, and interviews with Leonard A. Lauder, chairman of the Est?Lauder Companies, and a bartender at the Ritz in Paris, Mr. Nardoza said.

Edward J. Menicheschi, the president of WWD MediaWorldwide, the umbrella company for all Women's Wear Daily titles, said the idea was ''a natural progression'' for the company. WWD Media Worldwide is a part of Fairchild Publications, which is a unit of Advance Publications, based in New York.

''We've never really looked at our reader as a consumer. That was the kind of 'Aha!' moment. The reality is that the people in this industry are unbelievable consumers.''

Reed Phillips III, a managing partner of DeSilva & Phillips, a media investment banking firm, said that the W.W.D. brand had a lot of cachet in the marketplace. But he said he was cautious about its potential success in an already crowded market. ''There are a lot of luxury magazines out right now. There's a lot of competition both on a national and regional basis. The question will be whether they can differentiate themselves,'' Mr. Phillips said.

Samir Husni, chairman of the journalism department at the University of Mississippi, and a specialist in magazines, said that the W.W.D. brand had been one of the most underused. ''When it comes to fashion and anything related to fashion, it is the bible. But they haven't done anything major with the brand.''

After Women's Wear Daily was acquired by Advance in 1999, it began to branch out cautiously with niche magazines like WWD The Magazine, a twice-yearly publication that caters to the high-end trunk show clientele. ''Advance did not just buy the magazine Women's Wear Daily, they bought the whole franchise,'' said Mr. Husni. ''They are now getting their money out of that sale.''

Photo: The first issue of Women's Wear Daily's new high-end magazine, WWDScoop, is to be on newsstands on March 21.